Residents, business owners call for safety improvements on 2nd Street Bridge as traffic surges

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — More than eight years after tolls were introduced on the Interstate 65 bridges, traffic on the nearby Second Street Bridge has surged, and so have safety concerns.

Before tolls were in place, the tolled bridge saw more than 120,000 cars a day. Today, that number has dropped to around 80,000. Many of those vehicles have rerouted to the Second Street Bridge, which connects downtown Louisville and Jeffersonville, Indiana.

However, some said the result has been dangerous.

The historic steel bridge, which stretches 5,746 feet long and spans just 38 feet wide, carries four lanes of traffic — two in each direction. But on both ends of the bridge are different cities, counties, and states, creating a complex challenge when it comes to implementing changes.

Drivers said they’re paying more attention before using the bridge.

“Before I use the bridge, I always check the traffic to make sure it’s open or not restricted — or that it’s flowing,” William Reedy, a local resident, said.

Recent high-profile crashes have only fueled the urgency, including one incident involving Sydney Thomas' truck dangling over the edge — a chilling memory still fresh in the minds of many.

Some experts have floated the idea of reducing the Second Street Bridge from four lanes to three, in an effort to improve safety and manage traffic flow.

“Now we all get to figure out if the results of their studies make sense to all of us as well,” Indiana State Rep. Wendy Dant Chesser, D-71, said at a meeting Wednesday evening in Clarksville.

Dant Chesser convened a group of professionals and stakeholders from both sides of the river to talk through potential solutions to making the bridge safer.

“The conversation started now gives us something to start documenting,” Dant Chesser said. “We know people are interested in the speed limits and enforcement.”

Since toll collection began, traffic on the Second Street Bridge has increased steadily — and with that growth, the bridge has struggled to keep up with the demand.

At the meeting, the group focused on two main solutions: reducing the number of lanes and increasing enforcement of speed limits.

“You see the crossing of lanes, the disregard for roadway safety. If you can’t be safe, then nothing else really matters,” Dant Chesser said.

While no immediate changes are coming, leaders said this first step is critical: starting the conversation.

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